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Laila Ayad

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Laila Ayad BIO

Laila Ayad is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She is a founding member of Ovation Award winning IAMA Theatre Company, named by Playbill.com as one of the countries' top 20 "must know” regional theaters, and an associate member of Ammunition Theatre Company.



Laila is a champion for new play development, and has been successful in working with writers to develop new works for the stage. She was recently seen in the world premiere production of Leslye Headland’s Cult of Love and developed both Christopher Gabriel Núñez's Locusts and Stephen Belber’s Joan at the Ojai Playwrights Conference. Other world premieres include Headland’s Bachelorette and Reverb, D.G. Watson’s Unbound, and Christian Durso’s Shiner, which she debuted Off-Broadway. She has also been seen in the Los Angeles premiere of John Patrick Shanley’s French Waitress and Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries. She developed DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt for the stage in the role of Tzipporah, and recently ended four seasons as Charlotte Reid on ABC’s Scandal. She will be seen next in L.A. Theatre Works' upcoming national tour of Seven.

She is a longtime writing mentor with The Young Storytellers Foundation, a program that engages creativity through the art of storytelling by using mentoring, collaboration, and performance to provide students in Los Angeles public schools the opportunity to write stories and see them brought to life.

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Review: LUCY LOVES DESI: A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE SITCOM at Reynolds Performance Hall


What did our critic think of LUCY LOVES DESI: A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE SITCOM at Reynolds Performance Hall?

L.A. Theatre Works' 17th Annual National Tour Brings Hilarious LUCY LOVES DESI To Performing Arts Venues Across U.S.


L.A. Theatre Works kicks off the New Year with its 17th national tour January 14 through March 10, bringing its signature radio-theater hybrid style to 22 performing arts venues across the U.S. with Lucy Loves Desi: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom.

L.A. Theatre Works to Release ONCE UPON A TIME IN NAZI OCCUPIED TUNISIA Recording


L.A. Theatre Works, the world’s leading producer of audio theater, is introducing American audiences to Once Upon A Time in Nazi Occupied Tunisia, a terrifying, yet surprisingly funny dark comedy by Josh Azouz that took London by storm in its 2021 world premiere at the Almeida Theatre.

Photos: Inside Look at IAMA's World Premiere of UNTITLED BABY PLAY


Six women find themselves trapped on an email chain as they plan their friend's baby shower when IAMA Theatre Company presents Untitled Baby Play by Nina Braddock. Katie Lindsay directs the IAMA-developed world premiere for a five-week run that continues through June 27 at Atwater Village Theatre.

World Premiere of Nina Braddock's UNTITLED BABY PLAY to be Presented at IAMA Theatre Company


Six women find themselves trapped on an email chain as they plan their friend's baby shower when IAMA Theatre Company presents Untitled Baby Play by Nina Braddock. Katie Lindsay directs the IAMA-developed world premiere for a five-week run, May 26 through June 27 at Atwater Village Theatre.

L.A. Theatre Works Takes SEVEN on 27 Venue Tour


Beginning Oct. 12,L.A. Theatre Works will bring its signature style of radio-theater to 27 venues across the U.S. as part of the company's 16th annual national tour. Alexis Jacknow (LATW recordings of Tribes, Together Tonight and the Audie Award-winning Hound of the Baskervilles) directs Seven, a riveting documentary play by seven female writers, based on personal interviews with seven remarkable women who faced life-threatening obstacles before bringing heroic changes to their home countries of Pakistan, Nigeria, Ireland, Afghanistan, Guatemala, Russia and Cambodia.

Final Play in 'Seven Deadly Plays' CULT OF LOVE Concludes 10th Anniversary IAMA Season


IAMA concludes its 10th anniversary season with the final installment of Leslye Headland's viciously funny "Seven Deadly Plays" cycle: a black comedy that explores the sin of "pride." Annie Tippe directs the world premiere of Cult of Love, a powerful look at one family's feverish clash over who is right - and who is crazy. Previews begin May 18, with the press opening scheduled for Thursday, May 24. Performances will continue through June 24 at Atwater Village Theatre.

Photo Flash: World Premiere of Dorothy Fortenberry's SPECIES NATIVE TO CALIFORNINA Hits Home in Trump's America


Everyone's a part of the family - until they're not. IAMA Theatre Company presents the world premiere of a deceptively gentle comedy about family, land, labor and loss. Eli Gonda directs Species Native to California by Dorothy Fortenberry continues through June 11 at Atwater Village Theatre.

IAMA Theatre Company Presents World Premiere of SPECIES NATIVE TO CALIFORNIA


Everyone's a part of the family - until they're not. IAMA Theatre Company presents the world premiere of a deceptively gentle comedy about family, land, labor and loss. Eli Gonda directs Species Native to California by Dorothy Fortenberry for a May 13 opening at Atwater Village Theatre.

Inspired by Chekhov, World Premiere of Dorothy Fortenberry's SPECIES NATIVE TO CALIFORNIA Hits Home in Trump's America


Everyone's a part of the family - until they're not. IAMA Theatre Company presents the world premiere of a deceptively gentle comedy about family, land, labor and loss. Eli Gonda directs Species Native to California by Dorothy Fortenberry for a May 13 opening at Atwater Village Theatre.

TV Producer Shonda Rhimes Named IAMA Theatre Company's 'Patron of the Arts'


IAMA Theatre Company announces world-renowned television producer and creator Shonda Rhimes as the first ever 'Patron of the Arts' for the critically acclaimed theater company.

BWW Review: UNBOUND Examines How Far Some Will Go in Their Quest for a More Perfect Union


With so much social and political upheaval taking place right now in America, it seems to be the perfect time for IAMA Theatre Company to present the World Premiere of UNBOUND, written by D.G. Watson and directed by Jennifer Chambers at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Hollywood. Taking place in the fall of 2011, UNBOUND examines the intersection of race, sex, and power by posing the question: "How far are we willing to go in our quest for a more perfect Union?"

Iama Theatre Company Presents the World Premiere of UNBOUND


The Ovation Award-winning IAMA THEATRE COMPANY is thrilled to present the World Premiere of UNBOUND, written by D.G. Watson and directed by Jennifer Chambers. 

Iama Theatre Company Presents the World Premiere of UNBOUND


The Ovation Award-winning IAMA THEATRE COMPANY is thrilled to present the World Premiere of UNBOUND, written by D.G. Watson and directed by Jennifer Chambers.

IAMA Theatre Company to Present 2nd Annual 23-HOUR PLAY FESTIVAL


IAMA THEATRE COMPANY presents its second annual 23-hour Play Festival, which is a dynamic theatrical event that showcases how exciting live theater can be. IAMA, with the help of their very talented celebrity friends, will present 7 original short plays -- all written, directed and performed in under 23 hours!

Joey McIntyre, Bellamy Young & More Join IAMA Theatre Company's ANOTHER HOLIDAY CABARET


Joey McIntyre, Bellamy Young, Busy Phillipps and Barrett Foa join IAMA Theatre Company's: Another Holiday Cabaret. Join Ovation Award winning theatre company IAMA in a Broadway and Hollywood star studded cabaret this Sunday, December 6th at Rockwell Table and Stage in Los Feliz at 8pm.

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